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Everything-in-the-Cupboard & Carrot Soup

Author Notes:I don't really know what quite sparked the initial recipe for this Everything-and-Carrot soup, but a large ingredient was desperation. I was hungry after a day at university, but I had far exceeded my budget, and had ended up with a huge bag of rejected Farmer's Box carrots. I'm a huge fan of the orange vegetable in dishes, but not so much on their own. I stood lamenting their existence for a few minutes before turning to my cupboards to see what I could throw together with them, when, upon stumbling across some extra chicken broth, it hit me. Carrot soup! I was studying in Copenhagen at the time, and in middle of November, the thought of warm anything made me want to get cooking. I threw everything I had into a pot with a dash of days-old white wine and some chili flakes, pureed it and prepared to sop up the remains with a trusty piece of rye bread.

Since that initial concoction, the list of possible ingredients and adaptions has expanded. What started as a bunch of carrots, a small onion, garlic, cinnamon and ginger has grown to include at various points or another butternut squash, shallots, chillies, tomato paste, harissa, apples, sour cream, dry white wine and pretty much whatever else I had on hand at the time. —Taylor Rondestvedt

Makes: a week's worth

Ingredients

The Basics

3-4
handfuls Carrots

1
handful Celery

2
Small Onions

4-6
Cloves of Garlic

3-4
cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth

1
dash Olive oil

1
dash White wine

1
pinch Ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

If you have any of the ingredients below, feel free to toss them into the pot, or open your refrigerator, and get inspired!

1-2
handfuls Butternut Squash

2
Small Apples

1
Red Pepper

1
Shallot

1
pinch Fresh grated ginger

1
pinch Paprika

Anything else that calls to you from the spice rack

In This Recipe

Directions

Chop the carrots, celery, garlic, and onions. Toss them into the pot with olive oil, a dash of white wine and about a half a cup of the chicken or vegetable broth. Saute until onions are translucent and the celery and carrots are softening. Note- if you are using apples, peppers or butternut squash chunks, feel free to add them towards the end as well.

Add the remaining broth, salt and pepper, and whatever combination of spices you can find. I tend to go pretty heavy on the ginger, if I have enough. Simmer until the carrots are soft all the way through.

Use an immersion or a standard blender to puree until smooth.

Garnish with red pepper flakes, a dollop of sour cream, or your favorite piece of rye bread. Enjoy for up to a weeks-worth of lunches!